Beaches and Dunes on Tap

The Oregon Coastal Management Program (OCMP), a branch of the Department of Land Conservation and Development, is hosting a series of talks on “Oregon Beaches and Dunes.” On Tuesday, June 20, 6-7 p.m., the talk will be featured as a Science on Tap event at the Hatfield Marine Science Center (2030 S.E. Marine Science Dr.) in Newport. The hybrid presentation will be held in the auditorium of the Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building, and also available online.

The speaker is Elissa Connolly-Randazzo, Coastal Outreach Fellow with the Oregon Coastal Management Program of the Department of Land Conservation and Development. She will share information about the importance of these landforms, how they are influenced by vegetation, and how they have historically changed. This will be an opportunity to understand Statewide Land Use Planning Goal 18, which protects beaches and dunes, and the development guidelines to conserve and/or restore the resources beaches and dunes, preserving their benefits for communities and the state. This presentation will provide further understanding for community members, coastal homeowners, and visitors of the coast about the intense changes beaches and dunes have experienced in recent years and why certain regulations are put in place as the state aims to protect, conserve, and restore these natural environments. Elissa will discuss high-level state land use policies meant to protect the ecological, protective, and intrinsic values of beaches and dunes and to reduce exposure of people and development to coastal hazards.

For those attending in person, a social hour will be held 5-6 p.m. in the building's atrium. Food and drink will be available for purchase (not allowed in the auditorium itself). The event is a hybrid. To attend online, go here.

For more information, contact Elissa Connolly-Randazzo, (503) 508-2215, elissa.connolly-randazzo@dlcd.oregon.gov.

To learn more about the full series of free events, visit this site.